It’s not like Republicans need a reminder of the tensions within their own ranks on government spending cuts.

But if they forget what’s at stake, all GOP lawmakers need to do Thursday is walk outside the Capitol, where perhaps hundreds of tea party protesters will be urging congressional leaders to hold their ground on major spending cuts.

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Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Steve King of Iowa — members of the party’s right flank emboldened by a national following of tea party leaders — will fire up the crowd. Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, a national figure among conservatives who is free of GOP leadership responsibilities, will join rally-goers who he says “demand that Washington get serious about putting our fiscal house in order.”

And inside the Capitol, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will quietly try to figure out how to negotiate without looking like he’s making backroom deals with Democrats and President Barack Obama. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), tacking right, is seemingly unaware of some of the intricacies of the negotiations between the administration and Senate leadership.

Meanwhile, tea party leaders say their heat is aimed at both parties' leaders.

“It’s absolutely equally aimed at both parties,” said Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler, who helped organize the protest. “It takes responsibility equally for both parties to get this done.”

Though Meckler focused primarily on Senate Democrats, he had a warning shot for House Republican leaders, as well. “Their responsibility is to lead. They’ve been granted a temporary shot at showing they can lead [the] country back to fiscal solvency, and we expect them to behave in a way that people want.”

The tea party rally will be one of a handful of tense occurrences for Republicans over the next 24 hours.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich — the last speaker to shut down the government — will address Republicans Thursday in a closed-door meeting with the GOP’s 87-member freshman class and a health care caucus. And on Friday, House Republicans will force a floor debate on a largely symbolic bill that would compel the Senate to swallow every last dime of House Republicans’ $61 billion in spending cuts.

To some extent, Republicans have themselves to blame for the spending cut hype: In the run-up to the 2010 elections, they promised $100 billion in spending reductions — a symbolic number that many in leadership have begun to regret.

To drive home their impatience, Republican freshmen delivered a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday promising to “rally on the Senate steps every day until you pass a long-term continuing resolution.” They’ll appear on the Senate steps again Thursday.

Democrats are taking a divide-and-conquer approach, saying Republican leaders are afraid to cut a deal because they fear backlash from the tea party.

Some Republicans sought to downplay the importance such a rally would play in the final agreement. Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette, an appropriator close to Boehner, said, “I don’t think it has any effect one way or another.”

“A lot of people have come to Washington and stand outside and make noise, but they all understand how the government works,” LaTourette said Wednesday. “That’s the great thing about the country: They’re going to express their views, but in terms of is it going to change what Boehner does? No.”

Those laughing would be the Left! The Tea Baggers are dropping in the polls on a daily basis. In 2012 all these hip hip hurra cheerleaders that just got elected will see the writing n the wall and fall in line. Or maybe they will all run for President. Maybe they can be President by committee. They can get rid of the Presidential Motorcade and just get a new small clown car to ride around in. Bachmann and Palin can fight over who is driving and who is riding shot gun.

The tea baggers, who have already guaranteed Obama's re-election, need to understand that the American public dislikes them as much as both major parties.

The Republicans who embraced the tea baggers are rapidly losing public support, and they are all starting to look like irrelevant single-termers. The baggers need to step back and ask themselves if their refusal to compromise is worth the total loss of any support by the American mainstream.

The Tea Party isn't a party and it's membership is in the M I N O R I T Y. They are making a lot of noise. So what? While I believe we have to work very hard to bring government debt under control, if we don't proceed with caution, we are going to tail spin this country right back into yet another recession. When we get people working again, some of the debt will take care of itself because more people will be paying significantly more taxes. What exactly is the threat from the Tea Party if they don't get their way? A collective temper tantrum? Probably but my opinion is that Congress needs to stop being held hostage by adults acting like loud two year olds. For once, both sides of the aisle need to act responsibly and work together for the good of ALL the country. (There's a novel concept.) We haven't seen that for a very, very long time. Our elected officials need to remember that the Tea Party people really are in the minority and they need to start listening to what the Silent Majority (remember them?) does want. Elected officials could spend their entire time in Washington pandering to Tea Party membership and still be unemployed after the next election because they didn't list to ALL their constituency. Personally, I'm sick of the constant implied threats. Members of Congress: Grow up and act responsibly for the welfare of the United States - that's what you've really been elected to do.

I will ask 1 question.Who in the hell told the teaparty,that they run the country.They are simply a minority and not an majority,and the do not speak for the majority whom simply wish they would remove themselves so that elected officials can do thier best to get this country back on its feet.By the way where was the teapuppits during the Bush and Cheney 8 yrs of detrution of America.They was'nt arounld when Bush wanted to bell out mainstreet or two wars that really sunk america into an repression.Its a know fact that they onle came about after the first african american president was elected.whicch make them none inportant to anyreal and true christian.To all true believer in christ that are real christin.Beware of wolfs in sheep clothing.that mean you to Mr.Boehner.For the teapuppits has no good intention at heart other than disrupt those whom are trying to do the best for america.These people that calls themselves christin but shows themselve or act unchristian in the sight of god,and may god have mercy apond thoses whom uses his name in ungodly acts.

I will ask 1 question.Who in the hell told the teaparty,that they run the country.They are simply a minority and not an majority,and the do not speak for the majority whom simply wish they would remove themselves so that elected officials can do thier best to get this country back on its feet.By the way where was the teapuppits during the Bush and Cheney 8 yrs of detrution of America.They was'nt arounld when Bush wanted to bell out mainstreet or two wars that really sunk america into an repression.Its a know fact that they onle came about after the first african american president was elected.whicch make them none inportant to anyreal and true christian.To all true believer in christ that are real christin.Beware of wolfs in sheep clothing.that mean you to Mr.Boehner.For the teapuppits has no good intention at heart other than disrupt those whom are trying to do the best for america.These people that calls themselves christin but shows themselve or act unchristian in the sight of god,and may god have mercy apond thoses whom uses his name in ungodly acts.

Only hundreds are expected? Koch's Kids should demand much more from Koch Korporation. I mean if you're going to sell your soul to become cheerleaders for the billionaires' greedy agendas, you should demand more in terms of support. Can't the Koch brothers spring for thousands of first-class charter buses? They can afford it, so tea partiers should demand it. They should be picketing Koch headquarters demanding more troops and first-class accommodations while in D.C. Tea partiers should wake up. It's bad enough selling your soul; you certainly shouldn't do it for peanuts.

I will ask 1 question.Who in the hell told the teaparty,that they run the country.They are simply a minority and not an majority,and the do not speak for the majority whom simply wish they would remove themselves so that elected officials can do thier best to get this country back on its feet.By the way where was the teapuppits during the Bush and Cheney 8 yrs of detrution of America.They was'nt arounld when Bush wanted to bell out mainstreet or two wars that really sunk america into an repression.Its a know fact that they onle came about after the first african american president was elected.whicch make them none inportant to anyreal and true christian.To all true believer in christ that are real christin.Beware of wolfs in sheep clothing.that mean you to Mr.Boehner.For the teapuppits has no good intention at heart other than disrupt those whom are trying to do the best for america.These people that calls themselves christin but shows themselve or act unchristian in the sight of god,and may god have mercy apond thoses whom uses his name in ungodly acts.

As for me, the first thing I did was quite my job so I wouldn't have all that money coming in to tempt me to spend it. Now all I need to do is figure out what to cut out of my life... since I can't cut rent, the car payment, or my student loans, I'm thinking I'm going to have to cut out Starbucks. Why won't the Government make the same hard decisions?

The Tea Party is getting put in its place, and that is a very crazy place indeed with the Bachmanns and Palins of the world. Whether it is the left or the Establishment Right, it seems like the Tea Partiers are destined to be kicked around like a paper sack filled with excrement until they are even less popular than the repubs and dems, hell they are already tied for unpopularity so it is nearly done. After that the establishment can move on with the usual games. In my view any good that could be done to fix the debt and deficits in structural ways which are also responsible and do not hurt The American People are urinated away by bagger inanity.

Its not surprising that bunch of uneducated, foaming-at-the-mouth rednecks got pretty much rolled and used by the politicians for their own PR purposes. It doesnt matter how angry you are, people with a college education(aka "smarties" to the furrowed brow masses) and experience in trickery and how the game is played will always find a way to make you fall down on your own and they will make themselves look good while it happens. If the elites are too well educated, tea baggers are the exact opposite, and we all know which one is worse.

If there was a box invented that performed all the functions of the government judiciously and fairly, but the one requirement was that a human mind needed to be connected to it, perhaps through USB 3.0, who would you connect to it, Stephen Hawking or Sarah Palin?

Get ready Baggers, your guys are going to be issuing worthless ultimatums from now until they either get recalled or voted out in 2012. Thats how you fix things guys, ULTIMATUMS!!! Ask any divorced woman who gave her ex-husband an ultimatum. #winning

Anyone who has ANY amount of intelligence doesn't care what the Tea Baggers have to say. They are a bunch of crazies trying to take us back to whatever Little house on the prairie fantasy they are having. They are causing a lot of laughter but no intelligent person thinks they are worth anything more. Yes we do need to get the spending under control, but when its coming at a cost to education, planned parenthood and progtams that aid the underserved people already, that isnt progress, its crap! We need to start making the tax rates fit the income levels and close loop holes, cut defense by huge amounts, and maybe congress will take a pay freeze like they are asking others to do. We have to do something to save our earth, but Republicans wanna kill that too. The conservatives and the tea party neither one have any decent ideas that can be met halfway with. Democrats aren't going to stop fighting for the underserved in this country.

Will there be any adult leaders in the Republican Party who will have the courage to stand up to these fringe tea party kooks and defy their warning? I really hope so! The problem is that any Republicans in Congress who defy the tea party are as good as asking for a tea party primary challenge the next time that they are on the ballot which is the main reason why they fear the tea party so much.

Will there be any adult leaders in the Republican Party who will have the courage to stand up to these fringe tea party kooks and defy their warning? I really hope so! The problem is that any Republicans in Congress who defy the tea party are as good as asking for a tea party primary challenge the next time that they are on the ballot which is the main reason why they fear the tea party so much.